The main round could hardly start more excitingly for the two German crews in the battle for the Rio ticket: Erik Heil and Thomas Plößel are in fourth place before the start of the three-day main round, with European champions Justus Schmidt and Max Boehme directly behind them in fifth place. In the gold fleet, the friendly sparring partners will now meet directly for the first time after the preliminary round in separate groups.
They have a maximum of nine races to complete before the medal race on 2 April. For Heil/Plößel from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein, the aim is to defend their four-point lead from the first two qualifying regattas in the battle for an Olympic ticket. Schmidt/Boehme must equalise and overtake their deficit at the Spanish regatta classic Trofeo Princesa Sofía if they want to fight for a medal for Germany in Rio de Janeiro in August.
The two best 49er teams in the Audi Sailing Team Germany will start the final round with correspondingly different tactics, with nothing less than the big career highlight of the Olympics at stake. Heil/Plößel do not have to achieve a top result, but above all make sure that the gap between them and Schmidt/Boehme remains small. Schmidt/Boehme must attack, continue to sail their new boat as fast as they did in the preliminary round and build up a lead. The task is difficult, as helmsman Justus Schmidt from the Kieler Yacht-Club knows: "Four points is more than it sounds. But we believe in our chances." What will be different in the gold fleet than in the split preliminary round groups? Schmidt puts it in a nutshell: "The concentration of top sailors is higher, the air is thinner, the room for error is very small."
... what you never dared to ask. A cheerful video contribution from the TV team at the Troffeo Princesa Sofía.
Parallel to the gold fleet thriller of the 49er crews, other German teams produced good results on the Tuesday after Easter: The "German Wonder Kids" Paul Kohlhoff and Carolina Werner from the Kieler Yacht-Club continue to mix it at the top of the world, coming second in Spanish waters behind the French world champions and Olympic favourites Billy Besson and Marie Riou. Jan Hauke Erichsen and Lea Spitzmann from Flensburger Segel-Club are ninth after six races. In the women's 470, Annika Bochmann and Marlene Steinherr from the Seglerhaus am Wannsee club moved up to third place with a race win and fourth place. RS:X surfer Toni Wilhelm from Dogern improved to sixth place. Ferdi Gerz and Oliver Szymanski dropped back to 12th place in the 470, while the 49erFX women improved: Victoria Jurczok and Anika Lorenz from the Seglerhaus am Wannsee club are fifth, Tina Lutz and Susann Beucke seventh.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
